The Best Free Interactive Presentation Tools

There are lots of great presentation tools for the classroom and these days they are being used by both students and teachers. So, in this post I have decided to round up a few of my favorites from the last few months in the hope that you find something new to use in your classroom the next time you want to engage your students with something a little different.

1. Nearpod – iPad teachers know that Nearpod is synonymous with engaging, interactive presentations. In fact, some would say they wrote the book on it. However, it is no longer just for the iPad because you can use it on Android, Nooks, Chromebooks and Macs or PCs via the web. Top features include the ability to add quiz tools, videos, photo slideshows, drawing tools, a PDF viewer and even a live Twitter stream.

2. EverySlide – Building on the success of apps like Nearpod, EverySlide has some other unique features that make it a great tool for the classroom. As the presenter moves through the slides on their device, the audience slides move at the same time. However, you can build in interactive elements like polls. You can also create quizzes based on interactive hotspots that you add to your slides. Everytime the audience clicks (or taps) on an area of your slide it is recorded for you to view later. Oh, and its web-based and works on any device!

3. Movenote – With an eye on the flipped classroom fans, Movenote lets you add interactivity to your presentations via a webcam video of yourself! You upload your presentation to movenote.com, authorize your webcam, and flip through your slides like a screencast as you record a live video feed of yourself at the same time. If you prefer you can record your video ahead of time, then use movenote to sync the slides to the video. Still not convinced? It integrates with Google Drive, so you can pull over your favorite Google Presentations and use those too.

4. Swipe.to – It may officially be in beta, but Swipe is still a polished performer. Simply upload your presentation as a PDF and/or add some image files are you are good to go. There are no limits on the number of files you upload, or the size of the files you add. YouTube and Vimeo videos can be added with just a URL, and all your decks are private until you are ready to share them. When you are ready to present, share the presentation URL so your audience can follow along on their devices in real time. There are no limits on the number of people you can present to at one time, so if you happen to get called to give an ISTE keynote, this might be a tool worth considering! 🙂 You can even give your students a coding challenge and get them to write their slides in Markup.

5. ClassFlow – Promethean made their name with interactive whiteboards, but when they launched ClassFlow you can see that they are now starting to look beyond the board. The teacher creates interactive lessons like they would for a SMART or Promethean whiteboard, except students interact with it via a mobile app or the web. Videos, websites, documents and more can be added and they are all stored in your cloud account so they are accessible on any device you want to use. Polling tools give teachers instant feedback and the data is stored for future planning.

6. Slideidea – I have blogged about Slideidea before, but it remains a great presentation tool for iPad teachers. It lets you create and present your slideshow and includes a variety of interesting features to make your presentation stand out. There is a digital whiteboard for drawing up some ideas, an interactive polling tool, and even the ability to record your presentation as a screencast. So, if you you are looking for a change from Keynote or Haiku Deck, give it a try. You won’t regret it! Read more about Slideidea here.

Which is your favorite interactive presentation tool for the classroom? Is it listed above? If not, feel free to add it to the comments below to share with others!

Do any of these have movable objects like classflow (and like common IWB slideshow software such as ActivInspire/SMART Notebook)?

I have a school readiness session daily in a preschool; my tech tools are my Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and a tv with hdmi capability). At the start of our session, my 8-16 children have enjoyed “signing in” by dragging their names onto a picture of a tree in Classflow – since it’s a small group, I pass the tablet around. However, Classflow’s been inconsistent on my tablet – I had to create the lesson on my home pc because the touch calibration on the Classflow website was off, and when I tried to edit it on my tablet to add an extra child’s name yesterday, it threw of the calibration mid-lesson. It’s very frustrating for children when they try to drag their own name and nothing happens (or it drags/selects other names).

I just need an app that let’s me move objects across a background. Help, please?

Nice article! I found some tools here that I hadn’t known about before.
I would suggest checking out Voiceboard (voiceboard.info). It lets you put live webpages, web apps, 3D models and maps INSIDE your slides. You basically never have to close out of your presentation to show your supporting material. Plus you can control your slides with a mobile phone and they are compatible with voice and gesture recognition hardware!

I looked through your review – thanks!!! I am wondering if you could help me get what I need. My son is learning mandarin. We will be doing a lot of traveling and I want to continue his lessons. I’ve set up skype but I need a way for him to write characters so that his teacher can see and vice versa during the lesson. Which application is best?

Post navigation

About This Website

The content on this website is the property of Jonathan Wylie and should not be used elsewhere without permission. Some links are affiliate links and have been added to help support the upkeep of this website.